weakness

American  

[week-nis] / ˈwik nɪs /

noun

weaknesses plural

1. the state or quality of being weak; lack of strength, firmness, vigor, or the like; feebleness.

   Synonyms:

   fragility

   Antonyms:

   strength

2. an inadequate or defective quality, as in a person's character; slight fault or defect.

   to show great sympathy for human weaknesses.

   Synonyms:

   flaw

3. a self-indulgent liking or special fondness, as for a particular thing.

   I've always had a weakness for the opera.

   Synonyms:

   appetite, hunger, passion, penchant

4. an object of special desire; something very difficult to resist.

   Chocolates were her weakness.

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weakness British  

/ ˈwiːknɪs /

noun

1. the state or quality of being weak

2. a deficiency or failing, as in a person's character

3. a self-indulgent fondness or liking

   a weakness for chocolates

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weakness Idioms  

1. see have a weakness for.

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Synonym Usage

See fault.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonweakness
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• weaknesses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of weakness

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English waikenes, weikenes. See weak, -ness

Explanation

The point where something fails to work properly or to hold up is its weakness. If a building crumbles in a storm, it's probably because of a weakness — a flaw or defect — in its structure. Weakness can indicate a physical weakness, like a chair with one wobbly leg, or flaw in an idea, like a plan for a lemonade stand that doesn't include any cups for serving the lemonade. People can show weakness too, when they are helpless to take action. The origin of weakness can be traced all the way back to its Proto-Indo-European root of weik, "to bend."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

weakness weaknesses

"Domestic weakness appears largely to blame -- while the export orders index softened a bit, it remains relatively strong compared to the past few years," wrote Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

However, many of these materials have a major weakness.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026

Richard Windsor, founder of research firm Radio Free Mobile, said Apple’s “iPhone launch quarter will not be as good as usual” given the weakness in that market.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

Coca-Cola’s stock is bucking consumer weakness as it heads toward a record high.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

From our very first conversation, he’d shown me that he wasn’t self-conscious about expressing fear or weakness and that he valued being truthful.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

The program “shows you your strengths and your weaknesses, and what you want to do to fix your weaknesses, to get strong, to get prepared for college,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

Or it could be worry that comes from helping the children understand a plan designed to protect them from their weaknesses requires a discussion of those imperfections.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

This isn’t a unique insight; lawmakers of both parties have flagged those weaknesses for years.

From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026

Both believe they emerged from this war with the upper hand; both believe the other will be forced by its own weaknesses to back down first.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Tell them their strengths, their weaknesses, what they need to do to get what they want.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

Related Words

• deficiency
• failing
• flaw
• fragility
• frailty
• gap
• instability
• lack
• lapse
• shortcoming
• vulnerability